Pump for raising petroleum and other liquids from deep wells



Oct. 24, 1950 J. A. GERHOLD PUMP FOR RAISING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQUIDS FROM DEEP WELLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1946 INVENTOR i Jasf m/ 70 GHz/mz 0 ATTORNEYS Oct. 24, 1950 J. A. GERHOLD PUMP POR EAIsING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQuIns PROM DEEP wELLs 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 8, 1946 A l1 NVE NTO R Jasf ,0M/M ff/Mam BY /F ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 24, 1950 OFFICE PUMP FOR RAISING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIQUIDS FROM DEEP WELLS J os Aderito Gerhold, San Antonio Oeste, Argentina Application October 8, 1946, Serial No. 701,950 In Argentina March 30, 1946 (Cl. 10S-44) 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a pump for raising petroleum and other liquids from deep wells and has for its object to eliminate the use of mechanical transmission elements which are so objectionable in view of the unavoidable friction occurring between the members which are guided within the piping for the purpose of actuating the piston.

In fact, as is well known, in plant for extracting liquids in which the latter exceed several times the equivalent atmospheric column, the pistons are actuated by a mechanical transmission comprising a rod which, however centrally it may be disposed, will inevitably bend and become displaced at some part of its length, so that the consequent wear will shorten the life not only of the movable member or transmission rod but also of the piping which is so expensive both in itself and by reason of the complexity of its application. Since other mechanical transmission pistons would have consequences which are similar to those just pointed out, investigations have been made along the lines of hydraulic transmission, and although at first certain difliculties were encountered a satisfactory result has iinally been reached, since by means of a simple pipe in closed circuit with the suction pipe, this important problem has been solved with considerable attendant advantages from every point of View. The combination of the hydraulic transmission on which the present invention is predicated is embodied by two piston members one of which acts as control member and is located in the upper portion coupled to the windmill or other source of power, whereas the other piston member is adjacent the well, the arrangement being such that through a secondary branch pipesaid other piston member is hydraulically moved by the liquid transmitted thereto by the control member, that is to say, in the suction phase, because in the back or downward stroke the actuated piston member responds directly to the effect of the hydraulic column of the suction pipe.

In addition to the foregoing the present invention has a number of objects, amongst which may be pointed out that of being able to operate with the pump at any depth Without any counter-eifects, since the hydraulic circuit functions with the same response as well at short as at long distances.

Another object of this invention is to enable the apparatus to be installed in any direction that is to say, with bends or twists resulting from the convenience of the structural conditions land the location of the strata of liquid, and this is very advantageous both for petroleum extraction plants and for pumping water.

Another object is to obtain greater lightness in the piston movements, since, because the system is hydraulic there is no need to support the weight of transmissions members as is the case with rods extending to great depths. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the description thereof which for greater clarity and-readier understanding has been illustrated by several figures in which the lifting pump is shown by way of example in one of its preferred embodiments in the drawing.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the pump assembly. Y

Figure 2 is a section showing graphically the downward stroke of the control piston and how the actuated piston member is caused to descend-l Figure 3 illustrates the end of the downward stroke of the control piston which causes the actuated piston member to reach its lowermost point, where it is ready immediately to commence the upward stroke, and finally;

Figure 4 shows graphically how during the upward stroke of the control piston the liquid flows through the secondary branch to the lower parts of the actuated piston member which thus yascends thereby exerting suction on the water and raising the column the surplus of which emerges from the delivery pipe.

In the several iigures the same reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts or elements. Y Devices or elements comprising several parts are indicated by reference letters. v

As may be seen in the drawings, a is the lifting column which as usual is composed of a pipe which extends downuntil it reaches the well. The rod 2 which'mayl be the power rod of a windmill or any other source of power, passes through the gland 3 and into the rst section of the column a which forms the pump cylinder 4, in which the piston b acts, said piston being connected to rod 2 and being hereinafter referred to as the control piston.

As in all pumps, the column a ends with the liquid inlet 5 whichis an orice having a check `valve 6 and adjacent said inlet 5 is the cylinder 'l and beyond the latter there is a cylinder 8 both these cylinders 1 and 8 forming part of the col- Uml'l a,

The cylinder? is smaller than the cylinder 8 but is in coaxial alinement therewith as if forming aA single cylinder of two bodies.

In these two `cylinders 1 and 8 the actuated piston assembly c operates, the length of this assembly being suii'lcient for the lower portion with the smaller piston 9 to operate in the cylinder 1 whereas at the upper end of the same piston assembly the larger piston I8 operates in the cylinder 8.

The difference in diameter between the piston 9 and piston IIJ of the assembly c corresponds to the diameter of the control piston b.

From the upper part of the column a that is to say at the upper end of the cylinder 4, projects a branch pipe II which extends in general parallel to the column a downwardly to the lower portion thereof and is connected to the cylinderv 8 at its lowermost portion, that is to say at the point 8 so that the water or liquid flowingr through said branch pipe may enter said` part' or space 8 of the cylinder 8 and operate against the annular shoulder I of the piston ID.

T he actuated piston assembly c, as regards the piston 9, has a check valve I2 so that when said assembly is forced up by the pressure of liquidy from branch II, the piston 9 shall suck up from the well I the liquid which enters by the inlet when the valve E unseats. The raising column a has a lateral aperture I3` wherethrough liquid may flow through the outlet pipe I4V extension to the receiver or service line to which said liquids has to be delivered.

Aperture I3 has a seat I3 with which a valve I5 is adapted to coact, said valve opening inwardly of the column a.

The branch pipe I I likewise has an aperturel which, similarly to the aperture I3, also gives access to the pipe I4 andy has a seat I6' and includes a valve I1 adapted to open inwardly of the branch I I and rigidly connected to the valve I5 by means of the tie rod I 8. Said tie rod is longer than the distance between the seats I3 and I6' thereby allowing play to the valves I5 and I1 so that when one of said valves is closed the other is open and vice versa, in response to the direction of the pressure in column a or branch I'I. The valve member constituted by the valves I5 and I1 connected by the rod I8 is indicated in general by the reference letter d.

The piston b has an opening I9 with a valve normally held closed by a spring 2I, the strength of said spring being such that during the downward stroke of piston b the spring will notl yield at any point of that stroke in spite of vthe work being done, since as already has been stated, the piston b, in descending, drives the liquid column downwards thereby compelling the piston c to do likewise that is to descend proportionally. If, however, the piston assembly c reaches the bottom of its stroke and engages the stop 22 of the valve 6, since the liquid cannot escape through any other point, pressure increases in column a until it overcomes the resistance of spring 2|, whereupon, as indicated in Fig. 3, said liquid passes into the upper portion of the same column which is in communication with the branch II.

The branch pipe I I has a safety valve e with a Vclosure member 23 urged normally to closed position by the spring 24, the pressure of which may be adjusted by the screw 25. The safety valve is adjusted to yield at a predetermined pressure and allows liquid to escape through the orifices 26, if for any reason the pressure in the branch II' becomes higher than normal.

The branch pipe II has a priming opening 21 normally closed by a plug 28, or said branch may `reaches the stop indicated in Fig. 3.

be coupled to any suitable priming device, that is to say a means adapted to provide a quantity of liquid sufficient to fill the piping of the pump as a whole.

Operation When the pump has been primed as indicated through the priming opening 21, on starting up the windmill or other apparatus which actuates the rod 2, the piston b if in the upper part of its stroke, will move downwardly driving down the column of liquid contained in the pipe a. As a result of this, the aperture I3 is closed by the valve body I5 whereas aperture I6 is opened by the displacement of the device b as a whole. Since the piping corresponding to the column a is thus closed the liquid in cylinder 8 exerts pressure against piston III of the assembly c since said piston offers a greater receptive surface than the cross sectional area of the passage of the axialr bore 29 which. extendsV from end to end of the assembly c.

vFor these reasons as the control piston b moves downwardly it forces the actuated assembly c to move downwardly as well, as indicated in Fig. 2,. thereby displacing the liquid from the lower space 8 of cylinder 8, said liquid being displaced into the branch pipe II. As graphically shown in theV same figure, when the assembly c thus descends the liquid which is in the cylinder 1 finds its way past the valve I2 and the passage 29A into the cylinder 8.

As hereinbefore stated, at the end of the downward stroke of the actuated assembly c in responseV to actuation of the control piston b, if the formerengages the stop 22 as shown in Fig. 3 the` pressure caused by the effect of the closure' overcomes the resistance of the spring 2|, the liquid then passing to the upper portion of column a which is in communication with the branch II.

Thereupon when the` control piston b rises as shown in'Fig. 4, it acts with its upper portion to exert a thrust on the' liquid whereby said liquid is forced into the branch4 II creating a pressure which forces the assembly b to become displayed, thereby closing the valve I1 and opening valve I5; With the branch II thus closed, the liquid entering the space 8 of cylinder 8 exerts pressure against the shoulder I0' of the piston I0, thus forcing the actuated assembly c to move upwardly as also indicated in Fig. 4. This upward movement on the one hand causes the assembly c through the' piston 9, to exert suction on the water in the well I which forces its way pastthe valve. 6, and, on the other hand, the liquid which wasv previously in column a is moved up therein andafsitsvolume is greater than that of the. space left by the retreating control piston b, the excess flows out through aperture iii-since this is open, as is also shown in Fig. 4. In this way, the said excess liquid provided by the operation of` the` pump and flowing through the discharge pipe I4 reaches` the tank or service point.

On the conclusion of the upward stroke, the control piston b again moves downwardly closing valve I 5V and forcing the actuated assmbly c tomove down as'illustrated in Fig. 2 until it These cycles are repeated in succession with the correspondingreciprocatory movement, since with the hydraulic charge an oscillatory circuit properly so called is obtained.

` It is to be understood that in carrying the invention intopractice I may' modify the same with regard to details of construction and form of the pump described, Without ho-wever thereby departing from the fundamental principles clearly set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A pump for raising petroleum and other liquids from deep wells comprising a source of power, a hydraulic alternating iiow circuit including a suction pipe, a branch pipe, valved means interconnecting the suction pipe and the branch pipe, a delivery pipe communicating with said valved means, said branch .pipe including priming means and safety valve means, said suction pipe including on one side of said valved means a, control cylinder and a control piston reciprocable in said control cylinder, an orifice in `said control piston and a spring urged valve member normally closing said orice, fluid means for said control piston, said control piston being connected to said source of power and on the other side of said valved means a relatively larger diameter cylinder and major ,piston head reciprocable in said larger diameter cylinder, and a smaller diameter cylinder disposed beyond said alternating flow circuit in intercommunicating end to end relationship with said larger diameter cylinder, said piston head being coupled together and forming an actuated piston assembly, an axial passage extending through said assembly, check valve means at one end of said passage, fluid inlet means at the end of the smaller diameter cylinder remote from the larger diameter cylinder and check valve means nor mally closing said fluid inlet means.

2. A pump for raising oil or other liquids from deep wells comprising a suction pipe including a cylinder of relatively large diameter and a cylinder of relatively small diameter arranged in intercommunicating end to end relationship; a major piston reciprocable in said larger diameter cylinder and a minor piston reciprocable in said smaller diameter cylinder, both pistons being 'coupled together to form an actuated piston assembly; a liquid inlet at ,the free end of said smaller diameter cylinder; a check valve for said inlet; a passage communicating the free end of said smaller diameter cylinder with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said passage; a control cylinder and a piston reciprocable therein; said last mentioned piston Ibeing connected to a source of power; a passage communicating one end of said control cylinder with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder, a branch pipe communicating the other end of said control cylinder with the suction pipe at a point intermediate the larger diameter cylinder and the smaller diameter cylinder; a .passage communicating one end of said control cylinder with the other end thereof; a valve member resiliently urged into a position in which it closes said last-mentioned passage; a discharge pipe in communication with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said communication; a passage communicating said discharge tube with that end of the control cylinder opposite to the end communicating with the larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said passage.

3. A pump for raising oil or other liquids from deep wells comprising a suction pipe including a cylinder of relatively large diameter and a cylinder of relatively small diameter arranged in intercommunicating end to end relationship; a major piston reciprocable in said larger diameter cylinder and a minor piston reciprocable in 6. said smaller diameter cylinder, both pistons be ing coupled together to form an actuated piston assembly; a liquid inlet at the free end of said smaller diameter cylinder; a check valve for said inlet; a passage communicating the free end of said smaller diameter cylinder with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder; a check valve 'for said passage; a control cylinder and a piston reciprocable therein; said last-mentioned piston. being connected to a source of power; a passage communicating one end of said control cylinder with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder;v a branch pipe communicating the other end of rsaid control cylinder with the suction pipe at a point intermediate the larger diameter cyl`- inder and the smaller diameter cylinder; a lon-- gitudinal .passage in said control cylinder; a valve member resiliently urged into a position in which it closes said last-mentioned passage; a discharge pipe in communication with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said communication; a passage communicating said discharge tube with that end of `the control cylinder opposite to the end communicating with the larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said passage.

4. A pump for raising oil or other liquids from deep wells comprising a suction pipe including a cylinder of relatively large' diameter and a cylinder' of relatively small diameter arranged in intercommunicating coaxial end to end relationship; a major piston reciprocable in said larger diameter cylinder and a minor piston reciprocable in said smaller cylinder; both pistons being coupled together to form an actuated piston assembly; a liquid inletl at the free end of said smaller diameter cylinder; a check valve for said inlet; a passage communicating the free end 0f said smaller diameter cylinder with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said passage; a control cylinder and a Ipiston reciprocable therein; said control cylinder, arranged in intercommunicating coaxial end to end relationship with said larger diameter cylinder, a branch pipe communicating the free end of said control with the suction pipe at a point intermediate the larger diameter cylinder, a passage communicating one end of said control cylinder with the other end thereof; a valve member resiliently urged into a position in which it closes said last-mentioned passage; a discharge pipe in communication with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said communication; a passage communicating said discharge tube with that end of the control cylinder opposite to the end communicating with the larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said passage.

5. A pump for raising oil or other liquids from deep wells comprising a suction pipe including a cylinder of relatively large vdiameter and a cylinder of relatively small diameter arranged in intercommunicating coaxial end to end relationship; a major piston reciprocable in said large diameter cylinder and a minor piston reciprocable in said smaller cylinder, both pistons being coupled together to form an actuated piston assembly; a liquid inlet at the free end of said smaller diameter cylinder; a check valve for said inlet; a passage communicating the free end of said smaller diameter cylinder with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said passage; a control cylinder and a piston reciprocable therein; said control cylinder arranged in intercommunicating coaxial end to end relationship with said larger diameter cylinder, a branch pipe communicating the free end of said control with the suction pipe at a point intermediate the larger di-ameter cylinder and the smaller diameter cylinder, a passage communicating one end of said control cylinder with the other thereof; a valve member resiliently urged into a position in which it closes last-mentioned passage; apassage communicating said branch. pipe with the suction pipe at point intermediate the larger diameter cylinder and the control cylinder; a checkvalve in either of the ends of said last-mentioned passage, adapted to close either end of said passage when the opposite end thereof is open; said passage being communicated to a discharge tube.

6. A pump for raising oil or other liquids from deep wells comprising a suction pipe including a cylinder of relatively large diameter and a cylinder of relatively small diameter arranged in intercommunicating end to end-relationship; a major piston reciprocable in said larger diameter cylinder and a minor piston reciprocable in Said smaller diameter cylinder, both pistons being coupled together to form anactuated piston assembly; a liquid inlet at the free end of said smaller` diameter cylinder; a check valve for said inlet; an axial passage extending through said piston assembly, a check Valve in said axialy passage; a control cylinder and. a piston reciprocable therein; said last-mentioned piston being con-- nected to a source of power; a passage communieating one end of said control cylinder with the free end of said large diameter cylinder; a branch pipe communicating the other end of said control cylinder with the suction pipe at a point intermediate the larger cylinder and the smaller diameter cylinder; a passage communicating one end of said control cylinder with the other end thereof; a valve member resiliently urged into a position in which it closes said last-mentioned passage; a discharge pipe in communication with the free end of said larger diameter cylinder; a check valve for said communication; a passage communicating said discharge tube with that end of the control cylinder opposite to the end communicating with the larger diameter cylinder; a. check valve for said passage.

Jos ADERrro GERHOLD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 40,002 Prudhomme Sept. 22, 1863 1,880,321 Jackson Oct. 4, 1932 2,118,539 Schneider May 24, 1938 

